The Sad Story of Me
by TheOmega1399
Summary: This is the story of my original character, Emo Blaze, as he tries to overcome the many problems his life is filled with. There's a bit of action, a bit of romance, and a lot of sadness. I know it doesn't sound very interesting, that's because I'm terrible with summaries. It's T rated for ponified vulgarity and emotional scenes. FluttershyXOriginal Character I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

The Sad Story of Me

A My Little Pony fiction story

By TheOmega1399

Hey everybody, it's me. If you don't know who I am, I'm just another fan fiction writer with a love of good literature. But if my story list sent you here, your head probably exploded.

"The writer of _I miss you…_? The author of _Killers Are Quiet_? The guy who's known for being a total downer is a BRONY?!"

Yes everyone it's true, I am a full-on brony. And that's not the only thing that's different!

In this story: The chapters will be short, there will be an attempt at a happy ending, and there will be… love. I know that my newer readers don't know why it's a big deal, because they don't know me at all, so here's why it's a big deal. I don't believe in love, and thus I am going to tryhard a good "romantic" story. And no, there will not be clop.

WAIT DON'T GO YET!

Friends and fans, I'm still TheOmega1399. There will be a plot-ton of depression, angst, sadness, and of course, favorite phrases. So let's begin our journey into the life of Emo Blaze, and the darker side Equestria…

Prologue

I used to be happy. I was a pegasus colt born in Canterlot, with a common enjoyment of companionship and company. It was a good life that I had, I was an only foal; that only gave me more love to have from my mother and father. But it changed when my father passed. It was a flying accident, he was going out to fly with his brothers and when he turned his head… he flew directly into the side of a mountain, snapping his neck, instead of flying around as intended.

This was a fatal blow to my mother. She had gotten the news while she was at work, his youngest brother had burst through the door in tears as he shouted the news uncontrollably. How do I know? I was there, she worked as an editor for some novella that was coming out, and school was out that day. That day was the day she lost herself, her usual kind, caring, and comforting self became cold, isolated, and depressed.

I tried to comfort her, I tried to get her off of her flank and to a place where she could let him go, because I had already known that he was in a better place. I had been through many deaths. Hay, I had even seen somepony killed by a timberwolf when I was younger; I began avoiding the forest outside of Canterlot soon after. Of course I was scarred, and of course I shouldn't've been used to death at the age I was. I was still a foal for Celestia's sake! But my mother was not as steel-nerved as I was. Whenever I tried to embrace her, she physically pushed me away. When I tried to speak to her, she wouldn't listen.

I felt regret, of course. Here I was, trying to get her to overcome the death of the stallion she loved most, when a typical foal would've been in the same state if not worse. But of course, this story is probably something you should shy away from if you already feel uncomfortable from the prologue. If you wish to continue reading, I'll let you know. It can only get better… Right?

Chapter 1

I walked slowly into the house, careful not to disturb the mare crying softly in the room across from mine. I dumped the contents of my saddlebags on my bed to begin my homework. One reason why I hated my school? Too much homework, which I normally just did at my leisure. I never ate school lunches, so I would fix myself a small plate of sweet potatoes to hold me over until I had dinner.

I stopped outside of her room after finishing my work, just staring at the mare who had changed for the worst over the last few months. "Mom…" she didn't answer me, she only continued to sob quietly. I tried to wrap my forelegs around her "Mom, you've got to-" she pushed me away. "Mom! Just let me hug you." She shook her head violently. "Midnight Flame go to your room." I again tried to embrace her, only to result in another push, only harder. "Mom, you need somepony to comfort you!"

"No I don't!"

"THEN STOP CRYING!"

It was a quick feeling. It lasted only a few seconds afterwards as it slowly subsided from my muzzle. She had hit me. I could still see her foreleg outstretched at her side. She had finally gone there, and I knew that I was only making it worse. So that night, I packed my saddlebags once again. Some food, some water in a canteen, and my music box. I also threw in some of my school books. I at least wanted to have some smarts when I reached where I was going.

When it was time, I snuck out of the house and sat by my mothers window. The lights were off inside, so she was most-likely asleep. I began to crank my music box and sat down. As the melancholy tune pierced the silence of the night at the edge of the big city, I looked up at her window. "I'm sorry Mom. I'm sorry that I couldn't make you feel better. I'm sorry that Dad died. I'm sorry that I made you mad. So I have to do this."

The light turned on inside. I bolted, spreading my wings as far as I could. I took off before she knew what had been happening. I just kept flying away from her, through the path in the woods behind our home. I just kept flying towards the unknown.

I just kept crying.

After hours of solid flight, I began to see the outline of rooftops. I crashed onto my unused hoofs as I read the sign ahead of me. It was a simply made sign with very little aesthetic beauty. It read "Welcome to Ponyville".

There we have it everybody, the beginning of my story. I hope you enjoyed! And stay dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everypony, me again. I'm back with another chapter of The Sad Story of Me, and I hope you guys like it! Let's just jump straight into it.

The Sad Story of Me

A My Little Pony fan-fiction

By TheOmega1399

Chapter 2

I had never been out of Canterlot, the farthest I had ever gone was to the forest where I had seen somepony torn apart by a timberwolf. I had developed nightmares about them. Standing over me. Looking at me. Just waiting for me to wake up so that they could hear my screams as they ripped my flesh from me with their vicious fangs and claws. I hated timberwolves so much.

I had to forget about my paranoid fears and focus on the task at hand; I needed a new place to call a home. I didn't know how it would come to be, but I had to try. I walked quietly through the small town, keeping true to my motto. _Stay quiet, stay low_ I told myself. A few other foals looked at me with a type of malice I couldn't shake. The one in front had the biggest smirk on his face. They pointed their hooves at my Cutie Mark and kept whispering. I guess they thought I was evil or something because it had a skull infused with it.

I decided to avoid them. The only way I would get into a fight would be if I were attacked first. I knew that I was defensive, I knew that there were kind ponies out there. But if I got defensive, I could hurt their feelings. I hated hurting others, so I avoided everypony at all costs.

As I crept along, keeping close to buildings, I began to notice a flaw in my plan. My name. I knew that when somepony goes missing, they had wanted posters to help them be found. If my mother still had any care for me, there would be a poster with my name on it, my real name that is. I began coming up with an alias to bear willingly. I wanted it to fit me somehow. I'd trouble myself with it later, right now I needed a shelter or something.

I ended walking literally through the entire town and ended up on a field outside of town. On the edge of the field was a small shack. A small, decrepit shack with broken windows and a sagging roof. It was good enough for a few nights, I didn't imagine myself being here long…

A few hours later, when nighttime fell, I built a fire behind the shack, placed my things inside, and started burning the trash inside for fuel. There was one bottle of "Spiced Cider" in the cabinets, the alcohol would help the fire burn. I then began to stare at the fire, just zoning out. I began to think of all of the things happening at the moment. All of my emotions, all of the trash burning in the fire behind my temporary shelter, even how much the trash and I were equal. That was all I was, trash. Trash who couldn't, no, didn't help its own mother after the death of her husband. _I'm trash, _I told myself, _My emotions are trash, they should burn here too._ That was when my emotions were lit ablaze.

Emotions fueling the blaze… Emotion Blaze… Emo… Blaze… That was my new name, something that spoke of the trash that I was, how I let my emotions burn in that fire. _Emo Blaze_ I thought. _It suits me._

-10 years later-

The posters that were in town never had my name on them. They only had a picture of somepony named Midnight Flame on them. Those pictures had been there for years now, I began to notice them being removed from the walls and signposts. I had very little desire to acknowledge my past, I started pretending and lying to myself about everything that happened.

Everypony had eventually began spreading rumors about me being evil in some way. I was offended beyond words, but I didn't care. I had been living in that old shack for all of this time, it began to be a home for me. True, it was only about forty square steps for my size. But I learned to make space, cleaned the place up, I even boarded up the broken windows. All of this, sadly, required trips into town. I get discounts at the shops for just being "evil". I call them "take-it-and-leave-me-be" discounts.

I had a bit of sympathy from a zebra once, she was out-casted too. I remember it as clear as day. I was walking into town to buy some nails to board up the broken windows, when I saw her go by. I backed up and let her pass, then sprinted to get at least a hundred steps away when I heard her say it. "_Strange pony, why do you shy away? Ask yourself where do your real fears lay?"_

It made perfect sense. Why do I avoid every living being I see? Is it that I'm afraid to buck up in front of somepony when I'm just over-thinking things? I told myself she was lying, that she was wrong and didn't understand. I eventually took her poetic words to heart and tried to trot with more confidence. Of course, this made each and every pony in the town back further away.

I knew it was because they thought I was working on some kind of plan for genocide or something. Really all I was doing was going into town for some water or something, then high-tailing my flank out of there. Those same foals, now colts like me, still snickered at me through their teeth. It disgusted me because they all had Canterlot-like clothing. The tuxedos, monocles on some of them, one even had a top hat. They wear all black clothing and they look at me with such attempted authority just because I have a black mane. Black mane, grey coat, "scary" red Cutie Mark.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I left Sugarcube Corner, leaving a bit on the table even though I didn't buy anything. I began to slowly walk back to my home when I passed those colts. As my back was turned I heard it. "Oh look, the freak is going home, everypony can come out now!" I jerked around so quickly that my saddle bag straps snapped. My hair was thrown to the side completely, allowing my other eye complete visibility to them. I got about an inch from the "ringleader's" muzzle, standing at about an inch taller than him. I pressed my forehead against his and spoke low, as darkly as possible.

"You pathetic excuses for living beings make me sick." He began to back away, his eyes widening and pupils shrinking in fear. "Oh look, the uptight bucker's backing off, everypony can come outside and see what happens if he tries anything else." As soon as he was against a wall, I stopped getting in his face. I backed up and smiled, just before I was kicked in the side.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again everypony, it's TheOmega1399. Today I have the next installment of The Sad Story of Me, and a little disclaimer: I've really wanted to write this story for a long time, because I feel kind of quiet in the community. I want my usual "grimdark" reputation to expand deeper into the more desperate, despairing parts of the mind and status quo. Please tell me how I'm doing if you have the time! It really makes my day!

Anyway, let's get back to the story.

The Sad Story of Me

A My Little Pony fan-fiction

By TheOmega1399

Chapter 3

What a great way to start out your day, am I right? Kicked in the side after finally standing up for yourself, just a perfect morning. I fell to my side a few feet away. It was obvious that the "hero" was another pegasus. Whoever the Hay they were, they were fast! I had felt a spine in my wing crack as their hoof collided with my side, great.

I began to stand up when I could only hear the breathing of the pegasus who kicked me. Their breathing was high pitched, was I kicked by a _school-aged_ colt? I noticed that my back was kind of bent when I turned around, the pain made this unstoppable. I opened my eyes, breathing quickly and shallowly. At first I was light headed, my mane clung to my muzzle; I shook it off and took a glance at the pony who kicked me before she spoke. She.

I had been kicked by a blue pegasus filly. She was too old to be in school, but she sure as Hay wasn't a mare yet. I was at that age too, the age where you're too old to be in school, yet not fully "matured" to status quo. There was a weird color to this filly… She had a full rainbow of color in her mane, and magenta eyes, I almost instantly had a dislike for this pony.

I could tell just by the look in her eyes. _Actions speak louder than words. Attack first, ask questions later. Judge the book by its cover to save time. Determination._ I could only get one positive first glance before she started to speak.

"You need to get out of here or quit acting so evil, freak!" she yelled. Freak… That word brought pain that couldn't be described by words. Words can kill, history has proven that. That word will have its day where somepony does die from it. I felt anger inside me about to burst, as if a vent had been opened up in my chest and throat.

I never said much out loud, I'm the kind who thinks more than they speak. If I let all of my rage out with words, if I expressed my despair, it would pollute the air. I held back my rant as the resonance of a scream shook violently in my diaphragm. She started to speak again, only to be blotted out by the explosion.

I never knew that my voice, or anypony's voice for that matter, could come out so loudly. My statement was deafeningly clear, I even heard ringing in my ears after I had said it.

"I'M NOT EVIL."

As the group recoiled, I took my opportunity to burst into the air as fast as I could. Not looking back, not slowing down. I didn't seem to notice the feeling of my left wing snapping even more as I continued to fly. But my eyes knew. My eyes knew of not only the physical pain of my wing, but of the emotional pain I suffered as every memory came crashing back into me. I began to cry.

I crashed back onto my hooves outside of the town, not paying attention to my surroundings. I honestly didn't give a buck if anypony saw me crying this time. As long as they let me cry, I would live another day without wrapping a rope around my neck. I needed to leave. I needed to stay. I needed to cry. I needed to sing. I needed to just shut my damn muzzle. I needed a lot of things, but I knew that these were just desires that I thought were necessary.

I never really lost my emotions to the fire, I had just hidden them.

I had no clue how long I had sat there. Silently dropping tears onto the ground, my wing throbbing. My mane was stuck to my face, the red streaks in the front covering my eyes. I was probably a complete wreck to the pony I heard stop behind me. The sound of hooves stopped just a few feet away. Were they staring? Were they concerned? What was I thinking? Of course not.

Nopony in their right mind would care about a piece of trash in a field outside of their town. Maybe they would. Maybe they'd throw it away, maybe they'd throw me away. Throw me away? It could've been for the best had I never settled here in the first place. _You're such an idiot, Emo Blaze._ But the pony behind me just stood there, after about ten minutes I decided to speak up and break the silence.

"You're here to drive me out aren't you?" Silence. "You're here to tell me that I'm in the way? Where the buck are you going that you can't go around?" Silence again. I could tell they had recoiled at my language, profanity was very uncommon in this town. "Or are you here to laugh?" Silence on the other end. "You're here to make some kind of joke about me being weak? Stupid? Helpless? A lost cause? Well go ahead. I don't care anymore, just say it."

I've never heard a pony so quiet, I've never even spoken as quietly as she did. I had to tune in a million times to catch it. She spoke briefly, timidly, as if she were scared. From what I heard, I wish I had taken every accusation back. "Your wing…" She was referring to my broken wing, as if I needed help. As if I cared about my own wellbeing at this point.

"I know, it's fine. Why do you care? Aren't you ponies in this town too high above me to sweat a little broken wing?" I wanted to punch myself right then. I couldn't stop driving everypony away. I could tell I had offended her somehow, I couldn't take anything back after I had said it. She seemed to become even more quiet after my jab, "I don't think I'm better than anypony else, I was only wondering why you were hurt…"

Now I wanted to throw myself off of a cliff with my wings tied, how can I be cruel to somepony I know isn't like those other idiots? I sighed. "I'm sorry… I'm being a fool even though I don't know you. My wing is broken because I deserved it. You shouldn't worry about it." There was a pause. "Who are you?" I asked her. She spoke in that gentle voice a name that made almost too much sense. "M-my name… is… Fluttershy."

I finally knew somepony's name in this town, but I hadn't even looked at her yet. I wasn't going to turn around. I didn't deserve the simple conversation that I was going to end, let alone a glance at the pony I was talking to.

I got up. "Fluttershy… You have a beautiful voice. I'm sorry that I probably won't hear it again. Bye… Oh, and I'm Emo Blaze." With that I started trotting, full speed, to the shack I had settled in. I needed to leave, and I needed to leave as soon as possible.

To be continued…

Well everyone, this is where the story really begins. Nightmares, idiosyncrasies, fears, friendships, adversaries, and most of all? Pain.

But I wanted to get something settled before I go further with the story: My opinion on the ages and "age range" of the characters. I'm using an analysis by Digibrony as my base, as it makes complete sense. Now:

(LONG THEORY AHEAD)

The mane three age ranges of pony society are foals, fillies and colts, then mares and stallions. Then there are the places in between, which are:

"School-age" fillies and colts

"Mature" fillies and colts

"Young" mares and stallions

And "Elder" mares and stallions.

(These are not official names, I just felt that they were appropriate.)

I believe that the mane six would fall under the "mature fillies" area, due to obvious childish characteristics and traits. Then there's the fact that not all of them live on their own yet (Pinkie Pie and possibly Rainbow Dash, Applejack doesn't count because she lives with her family on the farm. This is her work and land, it's self-explanatory.). Which would put them in their mid to late teens. But there's also the factor of differences between pony society and human society (since Cheerilee was in Rarity's class).

Also, there's proof of the "places in between" theory in the My Little Pony app. I recently won Snails in the balloon-pop game (Meh.). I got bored and eventually read his bio, which read "Snails is a school-age colt unicorn who is often seen with his friend, Snips." So this does have a background. As for the in-between places for mares and stallions: I'm using the "Friendship is Witchcraft" statement that Shining Armor is a stallion. If he's a stallion, he's pretty young compared to the "priest" pony with the pipe Cutie Mark.

I'm not going to say specific ages in this story, but I'll just give the range of 15-19 years old. Now please remember, I have my opinion so...

Oh yeah, this is also complete opinion. So you don't have to worry about that clop-fic you've been writing.

(END OF THEORY)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Stay dark.


	4. Chapter 4

Sup' everypony, I'm back yet again with a new chapter for this tale. This chapter here is the beginning of the real story! Yes, 1, 2, and 3 were a long-ish prologue; the real story begins now. So let's just jump in!

The Sad Story of Me

A My Little Pony fan-fiction

By TheOmega1399

I made a rushed bee-line for my… no, _the_ shack to gather my things. I needed to stop thinking of Ponyville as a home. I had obviously worn out my welcome. My wing was completely useless to me at the moment. If I was going to fly again anytime soon, I'd need to line the break back up so that it would heal. I just kept running until I was at the door of the building I had called a home.

I knew that I needed to head east, there were multiple areas that stuck out enough so that I may have come back someday. I knew it'd be a long time before those ponies forgot what happened, and I didn't want to be here for some kind of argument. I hated arguments. I kind of hated talking in general.

One thought that kept nagging at me was the thought of that one pony who acknowledged me with some decency, Fluttershy. I was glad I didn't see her, as it would be hard for me to leave when I have an image of somepony who didn't seem to mind me much. It felt better knowing that I would never _see _somepony like that. All I had was a memory of her voice.

I finally snapped out of my thoughts to realize I had been packing my things.

_Emo Blaze, you're an idiot_, I told myself. _You need to just stop thinking sometimes._ Maybe I was just made that way? Somepony who… _Stop thinking!_ I exclaimed to myself as I continued packing my things into my, now ripped, saddlebag. I had extreme difficulty moving my things into the pack without them falling back out again. The place where the strap came off was replaced with a hole. One strap. One hole. That was going to get worse over time, I should've learned how to sew or something, unless tape really could fix anything.

I heard a knock at the door. I decided that I would just ignore it and pretend I wasn't there. "You didn't board up _all_ the windows you know." I recognized that voice and sighed. That high pitched, strained voice that I wanted to avoid. I turned around to face her through the window, the blue pegasus from that morning.

"What do _you_ want?" I groaned, my wing beginning to whisper my name with little jolts of pain. "Wasn't my wing enough 'lesson learned'?" She looked down and scratched the back of her head. She spoke a little less arrogantly when she did speak. She said "I think we got off on the wrong hoof."

Apology? _Apology?_ Was this some kind of apology? I slowly and steadily opened the door. She looked at me through the corner of her eye as she walked inside. "You live here?" she asked. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, it's just that-"

"It's just that _what?_"

She cringed. I knew I sounded really harsh, but I kind of deserved a bit of anger. "It's just that this isn't… a… um…"

"What? This isn't a house? Sure I don't call it a house either, but I call it _enough_." She flinched at my tone yet again, darting her eyes to the floor. "You ponies think that I'm some kind of 'evil… whatever' and expect me to apologize for _nothing?_ My Cutie Mark has nothing to do with death. It means… You know what, I'm not even sure if I should tell you. You might just _break my other wing._"

I don't know if it was a tear, or the fact that her mane was drooping down over her face. Her voice already cracked when she spoke, which made me feel more curious. "I saw you about to hurt-"

"That bastard who likes to make all of the _hilarious_ jokes about how I'm an outsider? A colorless fool? a _'freak_'?" She hung her head even lower.

I had no control over the words that left my mouth at this point. I couldn't restrain them. "You think that you're some kind of hero. You're reckless and you downright attack me for standing up for myself! Is that what everypony in this town wants to do?! Hurt me and kick me out of a town that _I don't live in_?! I don't even have a… I don't…" My head dropped. My hooves went directly to my eyes and wiped away the tears that hit the floor where I was standing.

What did I have? I didn't have a family, a good place to call home, a job, somepony to care about… I didn't even have friends.

She looked at me from the spot she was sitting. Her magenta eyes had a sense of some emotion I couldn't name. I looked back down and tried to wipe a couple of tears off of the floor, only smearing them in the process. She got up and started walking to the open door.

"Why is everypony afraid of me?" I called out through a hoarse voice. She stopped for a moment before she looked back. I hoped she would answer, and yet I wasn't surprised when she only waved and shut the door behind her.

I had decided to stay later that night, I would leave sometime in the future. I started singing in a low voice as if trying not to wake somepony. It wasn't a song that I had ever heard, more of an improvised tune.

"If anypony can hear me"

I sat down, my back against the rough wooden wall of the shack.

"please respond/

my voice is fading/

and it won't be long/"

Whenever I needed to say something to nopony in particular, I'd sing it.

"Lay my head/

on stone, it's hardly/

a broken bed/

for a broken body/" 

I only heard the sound of my voice.

"I'm running out of room/

room to breathe/

life's taken hold/

it's taken hold of me/

I can barely move/

I'm starting to fade/

these are my wounds/

this is no hospital bed/

I'm treating myself/"

I sat leaning on the wall to where my wing wouldn't get pressed against it. I stopped singing the song so that I could finally get around to fixing my wing. Pulling down slightly on the fragile bone, I moved it to where it was straight and pushed it to join the spine above it. This of course felt like salt on a cut… I had never felt salt on a cut, how would I know that?

I liked to write songs in a journal I kept sometimes, and I liked the sound of those lyrics. Maybe someday I could sing them for real. I doubted it.

I crawled into bed that night, being careful whilst tucking my wing back to my shoulder blade. It hurt like Hay. My bed was actually an old chair I had found in the shack all those years ago. I had broken the back off of it, laid it down against the seating part of the chair, and put some old textbooks underneath as a way to keep it balanced. The chair was cushioned, so it wasn't that bad. The hard part was the fact that I had the armrests jamming into my sides when I slept on my stomach. No option that night though.

I didn't sleep very well that night. The day had been too troublesome for me, so I decided to go outside.

I loved the night time. The stars, the moon, the cool air, the silhouettes of things just kind of came together into a beautiful work of art. Whenever I couldn't sleep, I would go outside and just enjoy the sight of bats flying through the sky above me. It calmed me. It helped me to relax, well, more to forget. I walked slowly through the field, on a little path I had found a few years back, just enjoying the moonlight on my coat. I had found out that this path went nowhere. I had walked so far once, only to find it ending by the woods.

I passed by flowers, tall grass, weeds, animal dens, each plant growing larger and spreading farther each time I walked the path. I laughed to myself quietly. _I must be the only reason this path is still here, what with all of the plants and stuff._ I didn't mind though, I enjoyed all nature. I used to entertain myself by hiding in the tall grass when I was younger, playing hide and seek with myself. As I grew older, I started just enjoying the scenery and… Beauty of the surrounding nature.

My stomach growled.

_Did I get food this morning?_ I thought to myself. _Damn, I was thinking too much and forgot to buy anything._ My mind. My mind was always wondering, causing me to forget what I was doing. _Maybe I can just drop in, see if there's somewhere open? _I then began walking back towards my shack, and the town… _My_ shack, for now.

To be continued…

Okay guys, that's probably it for tonight. Drop a review in the box if you want, and stay dark.


	5. Chapter 5

Sup' everypony! This is TheOmega1399, and today I have a special chapter! Yeah, this one is a long chapter for me, so please bear with me.

Oh, and while I'm at it. When I said the chapters will be short? Nix that, I changed my mind when I saw that each chapter was my new word average. Let's get back to the story!

The Sad Story of Me

A My Little Pony fan-fiction

By TheOmega1399

"_My Dream"_

I trotted with a casual speed as I approached Sugarcube Corner, now reunited with an empty saddlebag. The lights, surprisingly, were on. Was the _bakery_ open? Or was it just the ponies that lived there still awake? I don't really know the ponies who own the bakery/house; I only knew that there was a mare, a stallion, two foals, and a filly living there. The weird thing is that the two foals are a unicorn and a pegasus, while the mare and stallion are earth ponies! Weird… _Who am _I_ to say that anything is weird?_

The door wasn't locked, but the sign said "CLOSED" in big red letters. I decided to just be brave and stupid simultaneously for once. I opened the door and called out quietly. "Hello?" No response. There was a group sitting around and talking in another room, they probably didn't hear me. A little louder, I called out again. "Hello?" The noises stopped.

A shadow moved across the hall as the pink filly who, I assume, bakes stepped confidently into the doorway of the main seating-and-eating area. She came in with a happy, bubbly, excited demeanor. Then she saw me.

She backed into the hallway quickly, her hind legs bending in fear. _What the Hay do the ponies in this town say about me?_ She asked in a shaky voice. "I-is there something y-you need?" Damn, her voice was the highest voice I'd ever heard. I stood against the now closed door. "Um… I know the sign says "closed" and all but… I was wondering if I could get a late order in? I'd be out of your mane in no time…" She shook a little less, this was the first time she had heard me speak.

I sat down in a chair near the entrance/exit as she went into the kitchen, only then did I look around.

I had never paid much attention to the artistic architecture of the building. It had swirls and dots of some material I didn't recognize. _Birch wood maybe? No, maybe some kind of stone?_ The entire building was made to look like a gingerbread house, whoever designed it was very good at what they did. The room itself was dark, since no lights had been turned on in the large open space. There were tables with sets of four chairs to match scattered throughout the room, with little space to move around if the place were packed.

_I know the theme of the bakery's theme is a giant pastry, but living here too? Maybe I shouldn't judge, I may not have the same "colorfulness" of the family._ I preferred things that looked old. Metal that's tainted (but not rusted), stained wood, Hay, I even _liked_ the smell of dust and moth-repellant. Well… I did spend ten years with that kind of look. I had forgotten the word for it, _Gothic?_ _No, that has to do with castles and large chapels. I do like that a bit, large mysterious castles? Stained glass is pretty cool too._

I then took notice of the silence in the room where the group of ponies was. Had they seen me? No, wait. There was a slight whisper when I really focused beyond the sound of pots and pans. The smell made my mouth water as the baked goods formed from flour into muffins.

A couple of voices seemed peculiar as the whispering chattered away. One was a bit hoarse, and the other peculiar voice was barely even there. I tried to ignore the sound of fear in the group and focus on my hunger.

A door opened from the kitchen after about fifteen minutes of me wandering my less important thoughts. Although the pony who walked out was quite familiar; it was the blue pegasus. _She works here? I doubt that, I've seen her clear the sky before… Was that her? Or somepony that looks like… Nah, the rainbow mane is too unique to mistake._ I looked at the ground. "Hi."

She had brought two things to the table, a boxed baker's dozen of muffins and a cupcake on a plate. She sat it down on the table and stepped away. "Hey." I looked at the cupcake for a moment and said "I think I should ask for a to-go bag. I'm not wanted here." Then she smiled.

She smiled. _Is she? She is. She's smiling! Why would she smile? _"Why are you in such a rush to leave?" she asked kindly. I recoiled a little before I responded. "Your friends were talking just fine before I got here, did they just leave?" I asked, laughing a bit towards the end. _Maybe I could be more light-hearted with sarcasm._ She turned around to look at the shadows in the hallway projected by the light in the other room. "They just… don't know you yet. Let's just go with that."

I took a bite of the cupcake. It was chocolate with cherry-flavored frosting. _I have just been enlightened_, I joked to myself. That cupcake was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten, the combination of chocolate and a cherry seeming to be my favorite taste. I couldn't hold back the sigh when I swallowed the bite. "That's the best thing I've ever eaten."

A shadow in the room down the hall jumped up a bit.

"Haha! Yeah, Pinkie Pie's a great chef. Actually… I don't think I ever got your name."

"And I, yours."

She held out a hoof. "Rainbow Dash, it's nice to meet you…?"

"Emo Blaze," I filled her in, tapping my hoof against hers, "And it's been… interesting." She smiled a little more until I heard a voice in the hallway.

"Emo… Blaze?" I stopped dead, my hoof falling to my side. That voice was familiar. A yellow-coated pegasus filly walked shyly into the room, she had a long pink mane that hung near to the floor. _Is that…_ "Fluttershy?" I asked, backing up. She raised a hoof up from the ground in a timid wave, "Um… Hi." Great. Just great! I couldn't even keep a promise to my bucking self!

I looked at her, now the voice has a face. It was going to be painful to leave now. _Wait… Wouldn't Rainbow Dash be another reason not to leave? Would this be considered "friendship"? _My wing throbbed in response. Even better, now the pain started to come back. I winced. _Maybe not right now._

Fluttershy, again, looked at my wing with a worry-line showing itself on her forehead. "You shouldn't worry about it, it'll heal." With that, Rainbow Dash took notice of my, now straightened, wing. "That could get infected, you should see a doctor."

"Believe me, it's fine!"

"I-… I'd r-rather not… if that's okay." Fluttershy spoke up. I hadn't seen her approach the table and stand by Rainbow Dash. "I think I need to get home, it's late," I lied, taking the last bite of the cupcake and standing up. I reached to put the boxed food in my saddlebag when Rainbow Dash blocked my hoof with hers. "Why do you avoid everypony?"

"Why does most everypony avoid me?" She pulled her hoof back slowly. I then took note of the harshness in my voice. Not saying a word, I put five bits on the table, took the box and slid it into the undamaged side of my two saddlebags. Then I had no other option but to leave. I pushed the door open enough for me to exit, that was when I said it.

"I'm sorry." I didn't look back at them. "I'm _so_ sorry. For everything." I then galloped, full speed, home.

Upon reaching the small shack, I threw open the door and entered. The door made an audible shuddering sound after it hit the wall behind it, it then swung back and shut nearly. It was open a crack, but I didn't care. I sat my saddlebags down on the floor and threw myself into the chair I slept in.

I lay on my stomach, the arm of the wooden chair digging into my thigh. I shrugged it off and gave in to my exhaustion as I slipped into a restless dream.

_I stood up, shaking myself off from the fall. I had landed directly in the center of somepony's back yard. I looked down to see that my hooves and legs were transparent, showing the grass crushed beneath me. I instantly saw that I was dreaming, but I wasn't excited much._

_Seeing the house before me, I felt that nothing would be interesting if I just sat there. I went in, compelled by some unknown whim._

_I found a mare in what appeared to be a living room. She looked directly at me and smiled. "It's been a while hasn't it honey?" I didn't recognize the mare. She seemed sad, yet thrilled at the sight of me. We both were transparent; I could see everything behind her._

_Suddenly the house broke away, the walls and ceiling flying into oblivion as they slowly faded to show a field. I just stared at this mysterious pony, wondering who she was when she began to sing._

"_Our day has come/_

_it's drawn in the sky/_

_so don't shed a tear now/_

_be thankful for the time/"_

_She reached up and stroked my face, wiping my mane out of my eyes._

"_Life wouldn't be a precious dear, if there never was an end."_

_Suddenly images from a distant time floated around me, fading in and out like waves._

"_Children still play in the garden/_

_dance as the sun slips away/_

_We stand on the edge now/  
we've come so far/  
through all the dust it becomes clear/  
you will always be my heart/"_

_Rain began to drizzle down from the clouds, stinging me as it landed. I saw a school, a window, and a music box drifting through the air in front of me._

_"There's no death, no end of time when I'm facing it with you/_

Children still play in the garden/  
dance as the sun slips away/  
not even stars last forever/  
cleanse us Acid rain/

Stand near to me/  
don't look, be brave/  
over the blackened moon/  
I'll carry you away/  
through the planets we fly/

Children still play in the garden/  
dance as the sun slips away/  
not even stars last forever/  
cleanse us Acid rain/

Send us home/  
send us home/  
send us home/  
send us home/"

_Tears filled her eyes as she kissed my forehead. "Good night Midnight Flame, I still love you." Tears then spilled from my eyes as I realized who it was._

I had been dreaming of my mother.

I had written the dream down on a blank page of my journal the instant I woke up. Every detail, every line in the song, and every image. I wrote of my feeling towards seeing her for the first time, then the change in my expression when I realized who she was. Had that really been her? Was that a vision, or some kind of premonition? I wondered how my mother was doing, worrying that my departure was another mistake.

I had found the journal in the shack when I first started cleaning in out. It was just a ragged old leather-bound spiral notebook with blank, wrinkled pages. It was nothing special, just the way I liked things to be. I liked, no, loved simplicity. It wasn't too much to think about, and there were no small details to overdramatize.

As I finished my entry I looked back at my earlier entries. "_I didn't do anything today, just kind of walked the 'nowhere' path and laid down." "Another boring day, but I did find a couple of bits lying in the field outside my shack. Maybe I've struck it rich? Haha!" _My lonelier days seemed more light-hearted than my trip-into-town days. Probably because of the intricacies of figuring out what I had enough bits to buy, with the factor of the clerk ducking under the counter when I walk in.

Yesterday had left me numb; I didn't feel a single thing. My wing was silent, my eyes were probably bloodshot as buck, and my self-induced confusion was on the rise. I was positive that there was nothing to do today. Not a single thing.

_You over-think things too much, stupid, _I told myself, _Why can't you ever be a simpleton?_ I had a point. I needed to just lie down and let my wing heal, I didn't want to see a doctor. Doctors, what would they do? Wrap my wing up? I doubt it, as it might bend if they tighten it too much. What kind of infection could occur from a closed wound? The thought of internal bleeding was kind of scary. _Blood running down my bones and pooling in the areas around the cartilage? _I cringed a bit, that was not very appealing.

I started to get up when I heard knocking at my door. I didn't need to think much about who it was before I opened the door. "Hi Rainbow Dash." She looked at me with a bit of irritation, I thought it was about my wing until she spoke. "You take things personally a lot don't you?" I started to open my mouth, but I bit my tongue when she continued. "

"You don't have to apologize for everything, and not everypony makes a big deal over every mistake you make." I began to open my mouth to apologize, but she knew it before I had the chance. "Don't say you're sorry. You need to trust me when I say 'you can make friends here if you try.'" I looked at her. "Okay" I said. She motioned for me to follow her.

She flew slowly towards the town, looking back every once and a while to see that I kept up with her. "I know five ponies who would be perfectly fine with being friends with you. Do you have anything against hanging out with fillies?" She asked. "No, I'm just not very good at conversation." "Believe me, I know." I continued to follow her until we ended up at the bakery.

"Okay, this is Pinkie Pie's house. You've eaten here before." I nodded. She opened the door and motioned me to go through; I grabbed the handle and stood still underneath her. "You first." She shrugged and trotted in, me following.

A few ponies moved to tables further away as I walked in, gasps escaping the mouths of the others. I continued to follow her until we ended up walking into the room from last night, the room with the group of ponies in it. I sat down on the floor as she told me to wait a moment.

_How is this going to go? I haven't met this pony on an intellectual level… I don't know what she's like, I don't know her… It'd be best if I don't mess this up._ I sat up a bit and rested my chin on my hoof. It was only a couple of minutes before the door opened.

The pink pony from before bounced into the room and in a flash, tackled me to the floor, chattering away at a mile per minute.

"Hi!I'mPinkiePieandIjustwantedtosaythatI'msooosorryforbeingsoscaredtotalktoyoubefore,theseponieshadsaid_awful_thingsaboutyouthatjustmademesoscaredthatIdidn'tknowwhototrust!" She then inhaled very loudly and continued. "Soonceagain,I'mreallysorryafteryouhadbeensopolitelastnightwhenyoudroppedin!Didyouknowthatyoupaidextrafortheboxofmuffins?Idid,sothat'swhyIthoughtI'dmakeyouthecupcakeasagift!ThenDashiesaidsheknewyouandthatshewantedtobringthefoodoutsothatshecouldtalktoyou!" Another long inhale. "SoIjustwentbackintothelivingroom,well,thisroomandweallsatdownandeavesdropped!We'resosillysometimes!Anyway,Iwasreallyhappywhenyousaidmycupcakewasthebestthingyou'veevereatenandIcouldn'thelpbutbounceupabitand-!" "PINKIE!" Rainbow Dash yelled. I sorted out each word in my head (with extreme difficulty) and sighed, laughing a lot more than usual. "Haha! Thanks, I'm glad you're not scared of me. Am I right to say it's 'Pinkie Pie'?"

"Yepperooni!" She nodded with a grin. _That went a lot better than expected. _I realized she was sitting on me and cleared my throat quietly, she didn't seem to notice. "Hey Pinkie Pie, how much was that box anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked, Pinkie Pie scratched the back of her head and stood up. "Well it actually _was_ five bits, but he had left a couple of extra bits on the table that morning, so I counted that as an extra!" I stood up as soon as I knew I wouldn't bump into anypony and rubbed the back of my head. "Thanks." I said quietly. "Oh, it's no problem! You did leave the exact amount for the cupcake on the table when you left earlier!" I felt like the second step towards making friends was much less stressful than the first.

Rainbow Dash walked to the door and motioned for me, I followed. "Well Pinkie, I wanted to introduce Emo Blaze here to everyone so we better get going." Pinkie smiled even wider. "Should I plan a party?!" Rainbow Dash crossed and uncrossed her hooves rapidly in front of her. "No, he's more of the quiet type." I smiled slightly and nodded. Pinkie Pie and I hoof-bumped before Rainbow Dash and I left for the next destination.

"So, do you see what I mean?" she said confidently. "Yeah." I answered. "What? Sorry? Couldn't catch that?"

"Yes! Okay, that was a lot better than I expected!" I laughed.

I hadn't done much laughing or smiling since I first arrived here… _Maybe things are looking up? Out of all of the stupid things you've done Emo Blaze, you just might've been doing something right._

To be continued…

God, this took me about two hours to type. I guess it might be worth it once I get it uploaded. Anyway, I have to give a shout-out to one of my readers for suggesting A7X's _Acid Rain_. I have a new favorite song by A7X (it used to be Bat Country). But I still want you guys to know, it's very rare for me to put an existing song in my stories. I normally write my own songs for them, so I'm only doing this since it's a "special" chapter. I guess every five chapters I'll have an "extended chapter".

Anyway, I'll just do this now so that it won't haunt me later.

I did not write _Acid Rain_, it was written and performed by Avenged Sevenfold and I do not take any credit for it's existence.

Read, review, enjoy, and stay dark!


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